|

|

Why Xbox 360 is the only console for World of Tanks

World of Tanks developer Wargaming only had eyes for the Xbox 360 when it chose to move into the console space.

World of Tanks has been a huge success for Wargaming on the PC, so logically, it's moving to console. But, why make it exclusive to Xbox 360?

"Our style of game was a perfect for the Xbox community," said Jeremy Monroe, general manager at Wargaming. "It is heavily focused on military and action-oriented games. The Xbox Live infrastructure is also the best in the world. It has the experience with social, achievement and communication components, as well as a fine-tuned distribution system."

focalbox

When the game goes live on 360, it will require an Xbox Live Gold membership to play, something that may be a bit odd for a game that is supposedly free-to-play and free-to-win. Monroe said, however, that they are targeting the large base of users that already have a subscription, and those that have a free Silver membership will be able to try the game for seven days.

During the upcoming beta, which will be starting "soon," players will only be able to choose from about 60 tanks--American and German. Tanks from the U.K. will be available when the game launches. Soviet tanks will be added in an update later on.

"We've redone the UI since console player will be sitting further away from the screen," Monroe said. "The player's tank crew will also give more meaningful information as needed, such as 'Be careful, you are being flanked' or 'We better look for some cover.' It's a way of helping educate new players about the game quickly so they enjoy the experience."

The 15-on-15 multiplayer experience on Xbox 360 will be confined to 360 servers, he added, saying there is no plan to allow cross-play with PC players.

John Keefer

Contributing Editor

John Keefer is a curmudgeon that has been in journalism for 35 years, the last 16 in the video games industry. He loves real-time strategy games and prefers old-school Total Annihilation to StarCraft. He also loves isometric RPGs, and has been addicted to World of Warcraft for more than 10 years. He sucks at shooters and multiplayer and is purely a PC guy. And being a former member of Shack, he also likes Chatty. Go figure.